Thankful

My two sick babies are finally all better...hallelujah! Cole just got over a terrible ear infection and Eve is recovering from a tonsil infection. It has been a rough few weeks and I am so very thankful to say that we are all healthy now!

Painting, painting, painting!

I feel like all I've been doing these last few weeks is painting! I am the type of person who won't be able to even begin to enjoy this house until I feel like we've got a pretty decent start on making it our own...and a huge part of that for me is painting the entire house. Unfortunately, there is not a single room here that does not need a fresh coat of paint. The previous owner had a penchant for red and did a quick paint job before putting the house on the market. This means most rooms in the house were white with tiny streaks of red popping thru here and there....ugh! We are getting so close to being done though. We've completed painting the foyer, living room, dining room, family room, and our master bedroom. All that is left is the kitchen, kid's bedrooms, and bathrooms. The bathrooms are going to be a nightmare because we have to strip a ton of horrendous wallpaper off the walls first...fun stuff! Note to all those considering wallpaper in the future: DON'T!

On the kid front, both my babies are doing fabulously! Cole turns 8 months old today! Time is just flying by way too quickly. He is getting so big and more mobile by the second. Whereas Eve was a lazy baby and was content rolling around on the floor until she was 11 months, Mister Cole is already getting on his hands and knees like he is gearing up for crawling....eek! I'm not quite ready to have two kids running me in circles! He is also eating 3 meals a day now in addition to his bottles, and nearly sleeping through the night. We are down to about one night feeding around midnight now and then he gets up for the day around 7 am.

Miss Eve is also doing great. She will be 29 months old tomorrow. Sometimes I find it hard to believe she is only 2 1/2 years old...she is SO smart! And I'm not just saying that because I'm her Mom! She is still absolutely loving the freedom that our new house gives her. Her room is next up to be made over, and lately she has been absolutely resolute that her room will be pink! This, despite the fact that I already had a whole other color scheme in my head...oh well, it is her room. The only area where this little lady is giving us trouble right now is with eating. Nothing really new there though since she has been a picky bird eater since birth! I feel as though on some days, I'm practically begging her to just take one more bite of something so I can have a little peace of mind. But she is happy and healthy so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.

No other news here, except we will be making a trip back to Ohio in a few weeks to visit family. I'm sure I will be taking a gazillion pictures and updating here, so check back soon!

Lots Going On!

Man have these past few weeks been a whirlwind of craziness! The biggest thing of all being that we are finally in our new house! We absolutely love, love, love our house...a 1940 bungalow with lots of character, a great yard for the kids, and way more room than we've ever had in a place. And yet there is SO much we want to do with it! The house was nicely upkept by the previous owners, but we have lots of redecorating and renovating plans to make it our own. We are taking it room by room, and are getting close to finishing the family room. Here's some before and afters:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We still need to get slipcovers for the furniture, a rug, and put some pictures on the wall; but overall, I'd say it already looks loads better. Our next area of attack is the foyer and dining room...pictures to come. The kids have settled in nicely. Eve looooves being able to run from room to room. She also loves getting in the pool with Chris whenever she can. And Cole finally has his own bedroom. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is not to have to sneak into our own bed anymore for fear of waking him up! So all is well and God is good!

Cole's Dr Appointment

Earlier this week, Mister Cole had his 6 month wellness check-up, although we are a bit behind because he is actually nearly 7 months old now. Anyways, he did great per usual and barely even cried for his shots! He is currently holding steady at 22.5 lbs and had grown 2 inches in the last few months putting him at 28 inches! He is currently in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. He has also finally started sitting up on his own in the past week or so! It is crazy how quickly both he and Eve are growing up.

Speaking of Eve, my little princess is doing great too! We have been taking full advantage of the summer heat and Eve requests to go in her baby pool at least once a day. Starting next week, we will be able to take her in our big pool at our new house! We are still set to close a week from today on 6/29. We are so excited! Plenty of pictures and a house update to come!

Sleep Deprivation!

I spent the first 5 months of Cole's life bragging to anyone and everyone about what an incredible sleeper he was, and about how he was such a happy baby. And all of it is coming back to bite me in the butt! Over the last few weeks, Cole has decided that sleep is for wimps. And of course I get dragged along for the ride! Somewhere around 1:00 am every night, my little mama's boy decides its playtime. He usually refuses to go back to sleep until around 4 am before waking up for the day at 5 am. I am somewhat of a walking zombie during the day, and pray every single night that this is a very short-lived phase! I'm thinking teething is playing a role in all this because he gnaws on whatever he can get into his chubby little hands.

On a side note, Cole now weighs a whopping 22.5 lbs!!!! For comparison, Eve did not hit 22 lbs. until she was nearly 2 years old! The funny thing is, he really doesn't eat that much more than your average baby. We started solids last month, and he is now eating 2 jars of baby food a day along with his bottles.

Eve is doing fantastic. Such a smart little girl...I like to think she gets it from her mommy! The tantrums are starting to wane a bit, and she is currently working on learning her alphabet. She is obsessed with Sesame Street (particularly Elmo), Barney, stickers, her stuffed lambie, gummy fruit snacks, and stealing her baby brother's toys.

And lastly, we bought a house!! With Chris going to school, we will likely be here in Illinois for at least the next 2 years. So we decided it was time to stop throwing away money in rent, and to have a place to call our own. Ironically enough, it will end up costing us less to have our own house with double the square footage of our current apartment. We are so excited! The house is 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms with a living room, dining room, big kitchen, and a family room. It also has a covered patio with a pool built into the deck, and a nice big yard for Eve to play in. I think it will make our lives here much happier for the whole family. All that needs to be done is for our appraisal and inspection to pass, and we will close on June 29th! In the meantime, my parents will be putting up with us for the next month. So that is all for now...I'm sure I will be updating with house pictures and such as soon as we move in. God bless!

On a Personal Note...

I started Weight Watchers today as I've been finding it impossible to lose the last of the weight from my pregnancy with Cole. I'd also like to lose another 15 or so pounds on top of that. Wish me luck!

Eve and Cole's Doctor Appointment

So this morning we had Eve's 2 year checkup and Cole's 4 month checkup. They both did wonderfully. It was the first appointment Eve has had where she didn't cry at all! Both are doing great. Here are their stats:

Eve: 36 1/4 inches and 25 lbs.
Cole: 27 inches and 20 lbs.

Poor Cole had to have 3 vaccinations, and he has been extremely fussy ever since. He screamed off and on all afternoon even with a steady dose of tylenol, and just now finally conked out for the night.

We are just thankful and praise God for our two beautiful, healthy babies!

April already!?!

Wow, time really does fly when you're having fun! Although this past week hasn't been so fun as I've come down with a sore throat and a pretty bad cold, and unfortunately Eve is starting to show the same symptoms. Sick kid=no fun! Let's just hope and pray Cole isn't next. These past few weeks have been busy, busy, busy. We spent all of last week visiting family in Ohio. We had a great time seeing everyone, and the babies did as well. Eve is still talking about everyone! The only bad part of the trip was the car ride on the way there. Can we say T-O-R-T-U-R-E!? For nearly 12 hours, Eve and Cole seemingly took turns crying and screaming their heads off. Bear in mind that this trip usually takes us about 8-9 hours! We ended up having to stop nearly every hour for either a feeding, diaper change, or just to let the kids stretch out. Thankfully, we drove through the night on our trip back home, and it went much smoother.

This month looks to be just as busy as last month. The calendar is already full of appointment dates, Chris has to travel to Kansas City for a few days for some job training, and we are starting to search for jobs back in Ohio. Eve and Cole are now wearing the same size diaper...how crazy is that!? I weighed them here at home a few days ago, and Cole is a whopping 20 lbs. and Eve is merely 25 lbs. They are 22 months apart, and yet only 5 lbs. seperates the two of them! I will post again with an update in a few weeks after their regular checkups with the pediatrician. God bless!

Can you feel the love?

I can! The love for my family that is. Do you ever have a moment where you are just totally overwhelmed with feelings of pure love? I was struck by that feeling this uneventful evening when Chris, Eve, Cole, and myself were sitting in the living room before the kid's bedtime. If someone had told me several years ago that I'd be living the life that I am now, I'd never believe them. I just could never have imagined I'd be this blessed and happy. Whether it is Chris hugging me after a hard day, or just looking into the sweet faces of my children, I am in awe of all that God has bestowed upon me. I have a great life, and thank Him for it everyday.

I wanted to take a sec and update you all on Miss Eve and Mister Cole. They are both doing fabulously! Eve is still shocking me everyday with just how smart she is. She is learning to count, knows the alphabet, and is starting to learn all her colors now. She speaks in full sentences and can pretty much communicate all her needs to us now. I know I've said it before, but it is simply amazing to watch your child learn something new on a daily basis. As for Cole, he is still my mostly happy little boy. It is hard to believe he will be 4 months old this month, but at the same time, I feel like he's been part of our family forever. He is still quite a big boy, weighing in at nearly 20 lbs. and 26 inches long. He has given me quite the biceps from carrying him around all day! Both Eve and Cole have one of their regular visits with the pediatrician coming up soon, and I will update again then!

Happy Birthday Eve!

Where oh where does the time go!? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing your newborn self home from the hospital, and now here you are, 2 years old. You have brought pure joy into our lives since the moment you were born, and you taught us the true meaning of the word 'love'. There is nothing quite like starting my day by going into your room and seeing your smiling face ready and waiting for me.

You are so beautiful, on the inside and outside. But I like the inside the most! You are tough, spunky, sweet, and absolutely hilarious. You talk our ears off all day long, and I cannot get enough of it. You come and give me a hug and kiss when I least expect it and most need it. I cannot thank God enough for blessing us with your presence.

Happy birthday baby girl!